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For some, austerity means unemployment; for others, it means taking the Rolls-Royce to the designer outlet to load up on cut-price Mulberry and Ralph Lauren.

While the high street is floundering, consumers — far out of town, at least — are still spending. McArthurGlen, whose outlets include Cheshire Oaks, Bridgend and Swindon, achieved a 16 per cent increase in British sales last month. The rise is indicative of higher-spending customers.

According to Henrik Madsen, managing director of McArthurGlen in Northern Europe, increased visitor numbers were responsible for some of the increase, but a leap in the value of the average basket was